On
Somalia,
UN Looks Away from Mercenaries & Funder, Withholds MOU
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 13 -- As not only Puntland but
the Transitional
Federal Government in Mogadishu move to use mercenaries, the UN is
in
denial even as its Security Council's sanctions regime is being
violated.
On
December 6
Inner City Press asked
UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner
City
Press: there is a former US official, Pierre Prosper, who has
said that Puntland, the portion of Somalia, has hired a private
military contractor, Saracen, to do anti-piracy work — that it’s
being all funded by a Muslim nation that he wouldn’t name. So what
I wonder is whether, given Mr. [Augustine] Mahiga or anyone in the
UN, given both the prohibitions against mercenaries and also the 1992
sanctions on Somalia, what does the UN say to Puntland pretty openly,
or at least as acknowledged by a former US official, hiring a
mercenary firm to patrol the coast of Somalia, and what’s the UN
going to do in light of this report?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, thanks for the question, Matthew, and let’s see
what we can find out. I don’t have anything at the moment.
A
full week
later, the UN Spokesperson's Office has not provided any information.
But on December 10, Inner City Press asked the UN's Humanitarian
Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden about mercenaries. Despite
reports that the TFG is moving forward, Bowden said that there's been
a step back. Video here,
from Minute 13:55.
Inner
City Press
asked if the UN knows the identify of the country funding the
mercenaries. Bowden did not answer, but said that the funder should
contact the UN Somalia Monitoring Group, or they might be in
violation of the sanctions. But the country has indicated it will not
identify itself, ostensibly to not suffer attacks. Is there a
loophole in the sanctions regime for this?
UN's Bowden on Dec. 10, mercenaries and MOU not shown
On
the UN World
Food Program's confidential Memorandum of Understanding with the OIC,
Inner City Press asked what it says about paying to deliver service.
Ms. Kiki
Gbeho, Head of the Somalia Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs replied that she “hopes” it has
prohibitions, adding that the UN “in principle does not pay to
deliver... perhaps it has happened, but it is the policy not to pay.”
But
neither she
nor Bowden have seen the WFP agreement. What does it mean, then, to
be a UN Humanitarian “Coordinator” or OCHA Head of Country
office? What is WFP doing? Watch this site.
* * *
In
Somalia,
Entrepreneurs
Prosper & Petrie Violate
Sanctions in Puntland, TFG Tricks
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December
6 -- Somalia and Puntland have become hotbeds for
diplomatic entrepreneurs as they leave the UN and US government. The UN's
Charles Petrie has said he will be working for the Transitional
Federal Government -- but some in the TFG are not so such, not
least
about for whom Petrie will be working.
On
December 6,
Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky about a former US
State Department official seemingly involved in violations of the
1992 UN Somalia sanctions regime:
Inner
City
Press:
there is a former US official, Pierre Prosper, who has
said that Puntland, the portion of Somalia, has hired a private
military contractor, Saracen, to do anti-piracy work — that it’s
being all funded by a Muslim nation that he wouldn’t name. So what
I wonder is whether, given Mr. [Augustine] Mahiga or anyone in the
UN, given both the prohibitions against mercenaries and also the 1992
sanctions on Somalia, what does the UN say to Puntland pretty openly,
or at least as acknowledged by a former US official, hiring a
mercenary firm to patrol the coast of Somalia, and what’s the UN
going to do in light of this report?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
thanks for the question, Matthew, and let’s see
what we can find out. I don’t have anything at the moment.
After
UN
business
hours on December 6, Inner City Press asked SRSG Mahiga directly. He
said the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary General had not
asked him, but to his credit gave a long and detailed answer.
Mahiga
said
he had
told Puntland officials that they might well be violating the UN's
Somalia sanctions. They replied, according to Mahiga, that since it
“doesn't involve arms, it can't violate the sanctions.” This is
an inaccurate reading of the sanctions regime.
Mahiga
asked
if
Prosper was still working for the US. Not on paper, is the answer.
Mahiga said Petrie's roll is even more confusing. According to
Mahiga, Petrie wanted to work as a consultant to the TFG while still
under UN contract.
Inner
City Press previously corresponded with Petrie -- one of the more
intriguing UN officials -- then asked for formal confirmation, of his
letter, and his role.
UN's Ban and Mahiga, Charles Petrie, Prosper and Somalia sanctions not
shown
The following
arrived:
From:
UN
Spokesperson
- Do Not Reply
To: Inner City Press
Subject:
Your question on Charles Petrie
Mr.
Petrie
submitted
his resignation from the UN effective 1 November,
but was asked, for operational reasons, to postpone his departure to
the end of the current mandate, which concludes 31 December, 2010. He
is continuing to exercise his functions as ERSG for Burundi until
that time. It was also decided that while still under the UN’s
employ Mr. Petrie would provide some support to the UN Political
Office for Somalia's work with the Transitional Federal Government,
drawing on his past experience as Deputy SRSG for Somalia. He is
doing so in close collaboration with SRSG Augustine Mahiga.
But
on December 6, Mahiga told Inner City Press that "No one knows who
Petrie is working for." Petrie says he had the agreement of
the previous TFG, but according to Mahiga, the current government is
not so sure. Watch this site.
